Keith Palmer sent an email to clubs today with Capital Football's plans for this weekend. According to Keith, all the local councils report the same conditions with their grounds; very wet, with little chance of much play this weekend. Optimistically, even the better grounds will handle only one or two games. However, true to their word, Capital Football are giving the youth grades priority this weekend. According to Keith:

"The priority for this weekend is to try and find some game time for those worst hit by the cancellations this year - that means juniors, especially the 12-17 age groups in the Combined (Wellington/Western Zone) grades. We'll also look to play Hutt Valley juniors and King Toyota Super 6s if the grounds are good enough. Priority will continue to be given of course to Central League, Champs Premier League and Capital 1 and 2 as well.
We are hoping to play a lot of junior football this weekend for 11th grade and younger (i.e. not played on full-sized fields) but the big factor here will be how much rain we get on Friday."

So, that's welcome news for the youth teams. Of course, Capital Football will try to play as many of the younger juniors - 11th grade and younger - on the smaller fields they don't share with seniors.

The Fever were a player down so we are very grateful to Meredith for volunteering happily to be a Fever team member for the game. Meredith scored two goals for Fever and showed some real tactical play and positioned herself during corners to score, which paid off.

Reece scored the two Dolphin's goals with some well positioned big kicks. Lewis Wyatt and Tabitha Huxford both did sterling work in the goal, preventing many more goals than were scored and not being afraid of the mud. Reuben, Alex and Louis Bailey were all over the field working hard. Bruce played the most connected game he has had this season and got to the ball first several times.

Overall it was a really good exciting game and it is clear to both Stu and I at this game and the practice that the kids are really starting to make sense of the skills and tactics and also to work much more as a team.

Players of the day Reece Wyatt and Meredith Metcalfe.

Wests Suns 7 Pukerua Bay Skinks 2
The Skinks had a competitive game against the Suns this week. Their fitness was tested on a bigger field than they were used to. However, they started well with some impressive passing and excellent running on to the ball.

Maia scored a good goal in the first half and the Suns scored two. We started the second half strongly on attack. Courtney S had a couple of strong attempts at goal, which were well defended. Amy then made a lightening run from half way to score a sensational goal! This brought the score to two-all.

Unfortunately, after this the Suns dominated and we ran out of legs. Final score 2-7.

Player of the day: Courtney Spence for her energy and ability to run all day. Excellent work all over the field.

Special award: Mary Lynn Huxford for working hard all game and also attacking well.

Once again, the combined league games (11th to 16/17th grades) were cancelled because Wellington City Council closed fields. These teams have not played since June 21st - one month ago. We have complained to Capital Football about these older teams always being the first ones cancelled. It's particularly disappointing for the 15th Grade Rangers as they have taken the initiative and organised the team themselves and run their own practices. These boys are at an age when kids stop playing sport, and they are pretty disappointed at having played only four games so far this season. We think Capital Football should be doing all they can to encourage teenagers to keep playing. Perhaps some of the younger teams or seniors (heresy, I know) could miss out next time Wellington City Council fields are closed?

8th GRADEPukerua Bay Skinks 1 Nth Wgtn Zoom 1
The Skinks played a very wet and gutsy game against North Wellington Zoom. The girls all showed excellent form, working hard to get to the ball first despite the challenging conditions. Teagan played well in goal for the first half (her debut as goalie) and saved everything that came at her. The half time score was nil-all despite some excellent attacks on goal from Amy, Courtney S and Maia.
Maia scored early in the second half, but Zoom soon evened the score. Our backs, Lucy and Harriet, made many good tackles and Hazel ran hard, doing lots of great work in the midfield. Courtney S got stuck in and saved plenty of impressive attacks on goal in the second half. I was very proud of how hard all of the girls worked. They gave it everything they had and came close to scoring again in the final few minutes.
Player of the Day: Lucy Booth for good defensive play
Special award: Teagan Couper for great goal keeping and a couple of outstanding runs.
Pukerua Bay Dolphins defaulted to Onslow Colways because they couldn't field a full team.
10th GRADE APukerua Bay Stingrays 9 Nth Wgtn Jets 1
A real wet weather game with puddles. I think most of the parents on Saturday morning were wondering about the subtle benefits of going to watch a game in such poor weather, but I'm sure by the end they were glad they came along in such good numbers as the Stingrays treated them to a very impressive game of football. The Stingrays just keep improving and they played with a skill level and commitment that rose above the conditions to dominate a good team that they drew 2-all with in the last round.
Although the score would suggest an easy game this result was based on the whole team working really hard the whole time and really supporting each other. This started with excellent work at the back and in midfield from Blake, Katie, Connor, Jack England and Angus who all played their positions well, covered for each other and shut down many of the Jets attacks early. The goalies, Zac and Elroy, also had strong games in slippery conditions. The Stingrays goals were shared among all the strikers, with a particularly memorable header from Angus off a great corner from Johnny. There was also a powerful late strike from deep by Connor.
Players of the day - too hard to pick . This was a great performance from all the players in difficult conditions.
A special mention and thanks to Jack McClean who filled in for us when his game was cancelled and when we thought we were going to be short of players. Jack played his first two seasons for the Stingrays, so it was nice for all the team to play with him again. Jack played a strong game up front, combining speed and his customary straight running with a couple of well taken goals. Also a special mention to Elroy for good sportsmanship. The Jets only goal came late in the game and the ref thought it had gone across the face of the goalposts and signalled a goal kick despite protests from the Jets players. Elroy as goalkeeper went to the ref and said it had actually gone through the posts and was a goal.
Good to see Noa and Cammy although injured turning up to support the team. Also thanks to Bob Gibson for helping out at Wednesday's trainings.
11th, 12th & 15th grade games cancelled.

8th GRADEOnslow Kims 8 Pukerua Bay Dolphins 1
It wasn't until quite late in the second half that the Dolphins pulled off their first goal of the season. Louis Bailey drove home a goal, passed up to him from Reese in goal, through a number of the team and on to Louis to score. The team and the parents went wild and it was great to see the inspiration this was to all the kids as they realised what a goal feels like. That energy was apparent as Louis and Meredith came close to getting 1-2 more goals that were stopped by the Kims' goalie.
We are seeing continued improvement in all the players as they make sense of the game and how to play it. It was a muddy game and it was great to see those who got down in the mud get up and carry on (even the ref!). The Kims were quick off the mark and scored a number of goals by strong attack on our goal kicks, so we'll be working on that at practices. Players of the day were Bruce for keeping to his position and getting onto the ball - well done a great improvement over the season; Louis Bailey for the first team goal of the season and a strong all-round game; and Tabitha Batchelor for some superb strong defence that prevented the Kims scoring more and also a great effort when up in attack. Well done Dolphins.
Onslow Raroas 4 Pukerua Bay Skinks 2
This was a really good match - everybody got wet but they all had a lot of fun. After a good, even start, the score stood at 1-1 at half time. Unfortunately, Onslow pulled away in the second half to get a win. Amy and Courtenay S got the goals for the Skinks.
Player of the day was Mary Lynn, and the special award went to Hazel.
10th GRADE ATawa Harriers 1 Pukerua Bay Stingrays 6
The Stingrays made a storming start to this match stringing together some excellent passing movements right throughout the team and finishing with real effect in front of goal. They really stretched the Harriers' defence by taking the ball wide and combined this with good accurate crosses for the Stingrays attackers to latch on to, and they were 5-nil up by half time. Some of the passing leading up to the goals and the striking was of real quality.The defence was also rock solid controlling the midfield, shutting down any Tawa attacks early, and working really well as a unit. It was also great to see the players starting to head the ball in the match, both in defence and attack.
The second half had the Stingrays creating a lot of opportunities, but not quite finishing them off as they did in the first half. A rare goal mouth misunderstanding led to the Harriers getting a goal late in the game and the Stingrays finished in style with a deserved goal for their 2nd half efforts.
Player of the Day: the whole team for an excellent performance.
11th, 12th & 15th grade games were all cancelled.

8th GRADE
Nth Wgtn Chaos 5 Pukerua Bay Dolphins 0
While it might not look it this score is a vast improvement on the first game against Chaos, which the Dolphins lost 10-2 (only scoring the two goals after swapping two players at half time). We had three players away - Meredith, Bruce and Tabitha B - and we were very grateful for the ring-in short notice help from Ollie Markwell and his cousin Freddy.
This time against Chaos it was exciting to see the Dolphins go out and play like a real thinking team in the first half. We had a few shots at goal, which unfortunately missed but were a great improvement on a tendency the team has to take the ball up and then wait allowing the opposing goalie to get the ball rather than drive in a shot for goal. We saw good passing, calling and team play, but confidence and energy seemed to ebb for the Dolphins in the second half and we finished with five goals scored against us. It needs to be remembered we were playing with one player with a half-healed foot injury, three of our players away, and two younger players who haven't faced this level of competition nor played with the Dolphins before. So with that in mind, it was a great effort from all those who played and keep up the fitness, skills development and thinking about how you play as a team.
Players of the day - Alex Connolly for despite a major injury last week playing a great first half in goal and then good all round play in the second half, Ollie and Freddy Markwell for helping us out and a great first effort in a highly competitive game.
Pukerua Bay Skinks 2 Nth Wgtn Impact 3
The girls played a close gutsy game of soccer against this team. Amy scored a couple of ripper goals, one after the other in the first half. She attacked like a champion all game, with the support of her team mates, receiving some great passes. The score at half time was 2-2. We continued to play well in the second half but, although we had many close shots on goal, we didn't quite manage to score again. Harriet was our stand out defender - demonstrating lots of great positional play, tackling and clearances. Every one put lots of energy into this game. Well done the Skinks!
Player of the day- Harriet Cook. Special award- Amy Hunter.
10th GRADE A
Pukerua Bay Stingrays 3 Nth Wgtn United 0
Another solid game by the Stingrays in which they always looked in control. North Wellington were very organised in defence and also had a goalie who wasn't afraid to leave his line to shut down potential shots. Ngatitoa 1A and 1B pitches are also a lot longer in length than the other pitches we have been playing on, which had an effect on the players' positioning on the field and the links between defence and attack. It took a while for the Stingrays to get on the scoreboard, but the pressure finally told with a great left foot shot from Johnny.
They were 2-nil up at halftime and continued to press forward in the 2nd half with some good passing, nice runs down the wings, and some excellent crosses coming in. Angus then scored with a powerful low shot into the corner to end the scoring.Once again all the Stingrays players worked effectively all game to shut down any of United attacks. United's best opportunity near the end was stopped by a nice parrying save at close range by Elroy and then the return shot well blocked off the goal line by Jack.
Players of the Day: Johnny & Elroy.
Thanks also to Chris Mooney for refereeing.
11th GRADE C
Pukerua Bay Barracudas 1 Olympic Iris 4
By all account, this was a pretty even game, marred by the Barracudas letting in three soft goals. Pity, as it could have been a draw.
12th GRADE B
IBU Mokis 2 Pukerua Bay Sharks 4
The sky was blue, but it was very cool with a sometimes strong but always blustery northerly screaming across Wakefield Park. The Sharks were fortunate to win the toss, and Hannah (today's captain) made a wise decision to play with the wind.
The Sharks took a little while to settle down and were scrappy to start with, as indeed were the Mokis in their first game after being promoted to Section B. However, after about ten minutes the Sharks started getting their passes to feet, and with Dominic, Josh, Clarrie and Zac popping up all over the place, it wasn't long before Andrew scored the first goal of the game. This gave the Sharks their confidence back, and the midfield joined in the fun, with Logan, Fraser and Sam (who was playing all over the field!) getting stuck in. There was plenty of excellent passing during this stage of play, and Andrew scored another two goals before half time to claim his third hat trick of the season (and his second was a beauty!). Jake and Hannah in defence had very little to do, and Robert in goal only touched the ball three times.
The second half was going to be a lot harder for the Sharks playing into the wind, but early on it looked like they were going to bag a few more goals when Robert scored a well taken goal from what was almost a set piece from kick-off. For the next ten minutes or so the game settled down with the Mokis beginning to put some attacks together to put our defence under pressure. About this time the Sharks gave away the first of several handballs, but this one was on the edge of the box. The Mokis took a tremendous free kick, and Logan made a terrific save to put the ball over the bar - good football! After this the Mokis kept up the pressure, which the Sharks exacerbated at times by getting in each others' way when trying to clear, and these errors eventually led to the Mokis scoring two good goals. At the other end of the park the Sharks were still able to put good attacks together, but over-enthusiasm meant that two goals (both scored by Zac) were disallowed for being offside.
Overall, this was another very good game for the Sharks, with continual improvement game-on-game, particularly the passing.
Player of the Day was Zac for working really hard throughout the game; and best effort of the day was to Fraser, who by recent standards had a quiet game, but he was there when it mattered.
15th GRADE B
Pukerua Bay Rangers 10 Tawa Reds 0
A reasonable win to the Rangers, and one that will be remembered for two of the best (possibly flukiest) goals seen for a while. The Rangers played with a stiff wind in the first half and the first goal came at one of the many corners they forced on Tawa. Guest player Abel took the shot from the left hand corner and delivered a high curving ball towards the far corner of the goal. The wind caught it and swept in through the keeper's hands and straight into the net. It would have been a dangerous shot anyway, but with the wind behind it, it was superb. The goals came regularly in the first half and the second great goal came in the final minutes of the spell. Peter did a high bicycle kick over his head from the edge of the penalty area, straight in front of the goal. Once again, the wind caught it and swept it over the keeper's head and into the net, while Peter lay sprawled on the turf. Great stuff! The Rangers were up 6-0 at half time, but the score would have been higher if it hadn't been for some committed saves by Tawa's first half keeper. Tawa were also unlucky to have a possible goal disallowed when a striker ran offside to receive the ball.
The second half wasn't too flash, although the Rangers scored another four goals. Playing into the wind was harder work, and the Rangers went off the boil for a good 20 minutes or more. Passing was lacklustre and there was none of the sparkle they so often show. Tawa were unlucky to give away a couple of good scoring chances by going offside. However, the Rangers spent more time on attack then defence. And Abel had a lot of fun in goal, running out of the box on a number of occasions to challenge attackers. Talk about confident! Goals went to Abel (1), Luke (4), Peter (3), Tim (1 - his first for the season) and Cam (1).

8th GRADE:Pukerua Bay Dolphins 0 Nth Wgtn Fever 8
What the score doesn't show is that we saw the Dolphins really start to play and think like a team. There was great calling for the ball, much more spreading out and sticking to positions, some good looking around, and well placed goal kicks and throw ins. Some superb and courageous tackling and defending.
Reuben played goal in the first half and Meredith in the second. Both goalies made lots of great saves that prevented Fever scoring more than they got.
Player of the Day Louis Bailey
Pukerua Bay Skinks 4 Wests Suns 5
This was a very close, exciting match. The girls all stepped up and played an excellent attacking game with lots of shots on goal as well as some very good defensive play. Teagan, Courtney S and Maia scored a goal each in the first half bringing the half time score to 3-1. The Sun's arrival of a key player during half time resulted in two quick goals scored against us early in the second half. However, Maia blasted a goal into the corner to put us into the lead 4-3 shortly before full time. Unfortunately there was a discrepancy with the time keeping and the Suns scored two more goals after full time to put them into the lead. However it was still an excellent match. Thank you to Courtney D who volunteered to play for the other team in the first half and Mary Lynn in the second half - you both played very well!
Player of the Day: Courtney for amazing energy, speed and many excellent attacks on goal.
Special Award: Maia for also showing great energy and dedication.
10th GRADE A:Pukerua Stingrays 6 Wests Herons 2
Similar to last week's game the Stingrays started strongly from the outset and dominated the first 15 min of the game, scoring three nice goals. Then (probably for the first time this season) they were just a bit casual when competing for the ball and the Herons came back with two goals before half time. After a bit of a regroup at the break the Stingrays came out again strongly at the start of the second half and really dominated the rest of the game across the whole park scoring three more excellent goals. What was really pleasing about this match from a coach's perspective was that at half time we talked about the need to be first to the ball, especially in defence and midfield, and all the players responded really well and everyone lifted their game back up again. Well done guys - a great effort.
Players of the day: Jack and Noa.
11th GRADE B:Seatoun Lions 6 Pukerua Bay Barracudas 0
The Barracudas were down to the bare 11 team members with three members away, so no subs for tired players during the game. The started the first half playing uphill (!) and into the wind, against a better team. The muddy field slowed things down, and by half-time the Barracudas were down 4-0. However, they picked up in the second half, challenging Seatoun and contesting the ball a bit more. They even had a few chances to score by breaking away into the opposition's danger zone, but weren't able to finish off.
Player of the day was Samuel for good work in midfield (a change from his normal position in defence).
12th GRADE B:Pukerua Bay Sharks 0 Porirua Pukeko 8
Not a good day for us - an 8-0 defeat by a much too strong Porirua Pukeko who should probably be in the Promo league. This was a re-run of last year's game, with a much stronger and very skillful girl dominating the game, particularly in the first half. The first half was really hard work for the Sharks; not only did they have to contend with the northerly, but also the whirlwind that was the Pukeko, and a failure to play cohesively. Robert played really well in goal to deny them many more goals than the five they put in by half-time, but defensively and in midfield we were really poor and deserved to be behind.
The second half was much much better, and Robert came out with his usual gusto, which seemed to lift the Sharks a bit and put Porirua on the back foot at times. The Sharks started putting some good passing together, and a combination of strong defending by Porirua, and lack of numbers in attack denied us any real scoring opportunities. Porirua scored three goals in the second half, though these were a lot less convincing than those in the first half and didn't really reflect the run of play. I am really proud of how the Sharks came out and played in the second half - they could have given up but they didn't, and credit to everyone for just trying so hard and putting some good attacking moves together. What to work on for training? Getting to the ball first and not waiting for it, and first touch control (there's not point kicking thin air!).
Player of the day was Logan for a good second half performance in goal, and especially his excellent penalty save and subsequent clearance, which so nearly resulted in a goal for us.
15th GRADE B:St Pats White 2 Pukerua Bay Rangers 10
The Rangers dished out another resounding defeat to an under-strength St Pats side, which had to borrow two of our players in each half just to make up the full 11. The scoring started pretty early from the Rangers, but St Pats were no pushover, and gave us some anxious moments on attack. Hamish B did at least three excellent saves, diving at the feet of an attacker to smother the ball as they were about to shoot. By half-time, the Rangers were 5-1 up.
The second half continued the one-way scoring, with some superb goals from the very confident and controlled Rangers forwards, including one goal headed in by Hamish M from a superb corner kick from Luke. St Pats contested well in the midfield, but found it very hard to get through our defence to even have a shot at goal, although their second half goal was a great left foot shot at the end of a good crossing manoeuvre. However, their defence could not keep out our attack, with strong crossing, good possession and accurate shooting from all points around the goal box. The final score was probably higher than 10 for the Rangers, but the ref lost count at one point in the second half :-|.

8th GRADE:North Wellington Shock 4 Pukerua Bay Dolphins 0
The Dolphins played well, especially in the first half, and this was a well matched game. It could have gone either way with one goal got in by the Shock before half time. Reece did a great job in goal in the first half and did some great saves and huge kicks. Strong attacking was in place and Meredith, Tabitha, Louis, Reuben and Lewis all did some superb passing, attacking and had a number of shots at goal that just didn't get past a good Shock goalie. In the second half one of the North Wellington players managed a hat trick of three run away goals to take the final score to 4-0.
Player of the day was Tabitha for great all round work from backing up the goalie during goal kicks to almost getting a goal or two when in attack.
Onslow Bengals 0 Pukerua Bay Skinks 2
The girls had a good win, and everyone played well. Courtney D got Player of the Day for her excellent goal keeping in the first half. She made some good saves and cleared the ball from goal kicks well. She also scored a goal in the second half. The score was 0-0 at half time but with the wind in the second half and the girls' speed and strength the team dominated the second period. Teagan also scored. Courtney S won the coach's special award for improved skills.
Player of the day: Courtney D.
10th GRADE A:Wests Hawkes 1 Pukerua Bay Stingrays 5
A really good game and more even than the score suggests. The Stingrays had to battle hard in the first half into a strong northerly and some organised attacks by the Hawks. Great scrambling defence, however, by all the fullbacks (Jack, Katie and Cammy), some nice goalkeeping by Zac and the usual tireless running by Connor at sweeper, kept them scoreless while the attackers worked hard into the wind to put some good shots on goal. This paid off after about 20 minutes when a nice cross from Johnny was struck home powerfully by Oscar. This seemed to lift the Stingrays and they scored again with a good shot on the turn by Elroy.
The Stingrays started the second half with the wind at their backs and a very quick goal after Angus cut in nicely from the right to beat the goalie. They continued to direct the play for the rest of the match. The Hawks are a good team with skilled attackers who the Stingrays drew with 3-all in their first match of the season, so to keep them to just one goal while scoring five was an excellent effort. Well done everyone.
Players of the day: Zac and Oscar.
11th GRADE B:Pukerua Bay Barracudas 1 IBU Makos 4
This was an improved performance from the first time the Barracudas played the Makos earlier in the season, when they lost 6-0. They were a wee bit off the pace and slightly out-played. The kids seemed a bit tired - were're putting that down to many of them competing in the inter-school cross-country on Friday. Still it's good to see that they halved the goal margin from the previous game.
Player of the day: Taylor.
12th GRADE B:Miramar Dynamoes 2 Pukerua Bay Sharks 0
The Sharks were down three players and only managed for field 10 with the help of Clarrie as a ring-in at the last minute. Unfortunately, they also didn't fire on the field and their usual snappy passing wasn't there.
Player of the day: Hannah for being the stand-out defender.
15th Grade BWellington College E vs Pukerua Bay Rangers
All 15th grade games were cancelled due to a large number of transfers in the 12th grade. Second week in a row. :-(

Wellington has done very well out of the draw for the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup being played in New Zealand in October 28-November 17 this year. Local football fans will be able to see Brazil, England and New Zealand play at Westpac Stadium.
New Zealand has drawn Denmark, South American champions Columbia and a yet-to-be-decided team from North/Central America in group A. New Zealand is the top seed in this group.
Brazil, England, South Korea and an African qualifier make up Group D to be hosted in Wellington, and this is picked by some to be the toughest group in the competition. New Zealand will play Colombia in Wellington in the final match of Group A. New Zealand's other games against Denmark and the North/Central American qualifier will be in Auckland.
Games to be played in Wellington are:
Thu 30 Oct 12.00 pm - Brazil vs England
Thu 30 Oct 3.00 pm - South Korea vs African A
Sun 2 Nov 1.00 pm - African A vs England
Sun 2 Nov 4.00 pm - Brazil vs South Korea
Tue 4 Nov 4.00 pm - New Zealand vs Colombia
Tue 4 Nov 7.00 pm - African B vs Nth/Central American B
Sat 8 Nov 1.00 pm - Quarter Final
Sat 8 Nov 4.00 pm - Quarter Final
More details on the draw are at NZ Soccer site
We have brochures with order forms for the 'Friends and Family' package, which gives access to all matches at a venue (except the final in Auckland) for just $30 pre adult and $20 per child. This is great value, and if we sell 50 or more packages through the club, we'll get a 10% rebate.

The New Zealand team did very well in a recent trip to Australia, making football history by becoming the first women’s team to win back-to-back trans-Tasman matches on Australian soil. After a 1-0 loss to the same team in February, the Kiwis showed vast improvement by scoring eight unanswered goals against the home side.
The 4-0 score line in both games is the biggest football win by New Zealand over Australia at any level, breaking a long-standing record held by the All Whites with their 4-1 win over Australia in 1923.
In the third and final match of the tour the Young Football Ferns went down 4-2 to the Australia U-20s side.

A fair set of results for the younger players (apart from the Dolphins, who came up against some very tough opponents). There was a great deal of disappointment for the Sharks and Rangers, when all the games in the 12th-16/17th grades were cancelled because so many Wellington fields were in such bad condition from the previous week. (They must have been really bad as four senior soccer grades and a bunch of rugby grades also cancelled).
8th GRADE:Nth Wgtn Zoom 1 Pukerua Bay Skinks 1
The girls had a good close game with a 1-1 draw. They made good progress with their passing, tackling and positional play. The first half ended at 0-0. North Wellington scored late in the match, however, Teagan scored an excellent goal to equalize with just two minutes left. There was great work in defence by Mary Lynn, Lucy and Harriet. Maia and Lucy also kept goal well, particularly their goal kicks, as well as making some good saves. Courtney S ran and ran all match in mid-field. Teagan and Amy were dangerous in attack, working together to set up the goal.
Player of the Day: Maia. Coach's special Award: Courtney D for battling on after injury.
Tawa Huskies 15(?) Pukerua Bay Dolphins 0
A very tough opponent for the dolphins, after last week's excellent game. Another team that had a core of players who have been playing together for more than one season. In the first half our defence couldn't stop the quick attacking play of the Huskies. Tabitha B tried hard in goal but lots of missed tackles and a lack of confidence by the Dolphins in defence when trying to clear the ball meant we were down 5-0 early. We put on an extra player and managed to make some good counter attacking moves, which saw Meredith and Rees come close to scoring. Three more goals to the huskies before half-time and we played our full team for the whole of the second half. Meredith didn't stop running the whole game and had a couple of excellent runs, which tested the Huskies' defence. A few sloppy goals let in late in the game sealed the day for the Dolphins.
Player of the day: Meredith Metcalfe.
10th GRADE A:Nth Wgtn Jets 2 Pukerua Bay Stingrays 2
A close and exciting game. The Stingrays played extremely well considering the state of the Alex Moore pitch, which had very little grass and was slippery with boggy patches. This tended to curtail the Stingrays' wide passing game and, although they had the bulk of possession throughout the match, it was always going to be difficult under the conditions to be keep their feet enough to score a lot. That said, the two goals they scored - courtesy of Angus - were excellent and just reward for sustained attacks on the opposition goal. All the defensive players had really solid games also with the Jets' two goals both coming from long range shots that dipped under the crossbar.
I think everyone is impressed with the amount of effort everyone in the team is putting into these Saturday games. They are really competing for the ball throughout the match and playing with a lot of determination, skill and heart from the start, right up to the final whistle. Well done guys!
Players of the day:
Angus - for hard work in the midfield and accuracy in front of goal. Blake - for excellent and physical defence.
11th GRADE B:Pukerua Bay Barracudas 2 Wests Rovers 3
A close and even game, with the dominance changing several times during the match. The team work was good throughout, with good passing. It was really pleasing to see players setting up opportunities for their team mates to have shots at goal. The Barracudas dominated for the last 10-15 minutes, and had numerous shots at goal, hitting the wood a few times and going a bit wide. They were very unlucky to the equalise (or win).
Player of the day: Jack for nice passing.
12th GRADE B
Miramar Dynamoes vs Pukerua Bay Sharks - Cancelled
15th GRADE B
Wgtn College E vs Pukerua Bay Rangers - Cancelled

8th GRADE:Pukerua Bay Dolphins 0 Porirua Angels 1
This was a fantastic game. The teams were well matched and the game moved all over the pitch. Alex and Reuben tried out the sweeper position and both did a great job of defending attacks from the other team. Any of the players subbed off were begging to get back on almost as soon as they came off. We had a number of shots at goal and so did the Angels, with one of theirs getting through in the second half. A great fun game well played by all. Player of the day was Reece for superb goal keeping in the first half and great attacking in the second.
Pukerua Bay Skinks 0 Nth Wgtn Power 510th GRADE A:Pukerua Bay Stingrays 4 Tawa Harriers 0
A really solid game by the Stingrays. They started with a roar and were one up early on, and went very close to scoring again in the first half, hitting the posts a number of times. The great teamwork and passing continued after half-time, netting a further three goals. Tawa came back strong in the last couple of minutes but some great defence and goalkeeping kept them scoreless.
Player of the day - Katie.
11th GRADE B:
Nth Wgtn Sharks 1 Pukerua Bay Barracudas 2
12th GRADE B:Pukerua Bay Sharks 3 Karori Rappers 2
After last week's relatively easy game this was a reality check that the Sharks proved equal to. After winning the toss the Sharks chose to play into the wind which may well have helped us win the match. The Sharks had the better of the first half and played some fast-paced football. As with last week the passing was superb through midfield into attack, and it was a very well-struck 'banana' shot by Robert to finish off an attacking move that gave us a one-nil lead at half time. It wasn't a one-sided half at all, though, and Andrew was kept very busy in goal.
The second half started off with the Rappers scoring a very quick and well taken goal, taking full advantage of the wind (and some inattention on our part). Fortunately, the Sharks came back almost immediately with what seems to be becoming a bit of a trademark goal from the restart, with Sam, Robert and Andrew stringing some smart passes together ending with Andrew scoring our second goal. After this the Rappers began to camp in our half, and one of their defenders moved up and proved to be more than a handful and dancing (almost literally!) around multiple tackles to make some good shooting opportunities. Fortunately for us this lad often took on a bit too much, and Hannah, Dom, Fraser and Jake between them kept him and the rest of the attack out at the last moment. Eventually, however, the Rappers scored a second goal to draw level. I thought that the Rappers were going to get another goal or two, but the Sharks never gave up, and by continuing to play a good passing game and by moving quickly Robert was put through to score what turned out to be the winning goal. Overall a terrific game played in tremendous spirit by two very evenly matched teams. Well done to all of the players.
Player of the Day was Robert for a combination of almost tireless play and a much improved passing game. And I'd best mention his two goals, too! Most Improved Player was Hannah. In only her second game she is proving to be a strong and persistent defender who isn't phased by anything.
15th GRADE B:Pukerua Bay Rangers 9 Bishop Viard College 2
This was a much tougher game than last week, despite the score. Viard were a pretty tough team, with two fast strikers and a strong first half goal keeper with a huge boot on him. These players worked well in the first half, with the keeper being able to kick the ball into the middle of the Rangers' half, putting them under a lot of pressure from a quick Viard attack. This managed to get them their two first half goals. The first spell was very even. The Rangers opened the scoring, but were soon two down and only managed to take the lead with their third goal close to the end of the spell.
The second half was a different story. With a replacement keeper, Viard found it harder to compete. The Rangers' fitness and passing gave them the upper hand on possession and they became more dominant as the game went on. The goals came regularly, and Viard seemed to tire a bit towards the end. Still, it was a well-deserved win against a good opponent, and the Rangers were justified in being pretty pleased with themselves.

8th GradeNth Wgtn Blaze 8 Pukerua Bay Skinks 1
A much more even game than the score suggests. The Skinks competed strongly for the whole game, with lots of shots at goal. Unfortunately, only Amy was successful in scoring.
Player of the day - Amy. Coach's special award went to Lucy.
Onslow Bankots 13 Pukerua Bay Dolphins 310th Grade ANth Wgtn Victory 0 Pukerua Stingrays 12
A few weeks off didn't seem to affect the Stingrays with a comprehensive display of attacking football along with some equally committed defence. It's good to see the commitment shown at training transferring to the Saturday matches.
A well contested first 5 minutes of the game seemed to suggest an even tussle but once the Stingrays started scoring they never let the opposition get into the game and completely dominated right to the final whistle. Some terrific goals from Angus, Noa, Johnny, Zac, Elroy and Connor many coming from taking the ball wide and sending in accurate crosses.
The few opportunities North Wellington had were repelled by excellent skills shown by all the defensive players, rarely letting the opposition strikers to have an uninterrupted shot on goal.
Player of the day was the whole team for an all-round performance.
11th Grade BPukerua Bay Barracudas 1 Karori Bellbirds 3
This was an even game, despite the score. The Barracudas held Karori to a nil-all draw until the last couple of minutes of the first half, when Karori managed to slip in two quick goals. An evenly contested second half saw the teams get a goal a piece.
Player of the day - Peter.
12th Grade BKarori Volts 0 Pukerua Bay Sharks 9
A beautiful day for football after so many cancellations, and both teams went out determined to enjoy themselves and score a few goals.
In the first few minutes of the game it looked as though this might be quite an even contest, with both midfields putting some attacking moves together. Fortunately for the Sharks we took the first chance that came our way with George scoring a lovely goal from around the edge of the box (it might have been a half volley, too, but I can't remember). Even better, though, was that this was the culmination of some terrific passing and a perfect cross into the centre from the right wing. In fact, the Sharks' passing during the first half was without doubt the best they have ever played, and we were 4 - 0 up at half time, with the other goals scored by Robert and Andrew.
The second half was a bit scrappier, largely because the Sharks started to play a little more individually rather than as a team, but nevertheless they scored 5 more good goals. At this point I moved defence into attack and attack into defence, but by now it was too late for the Volts to make any inroads. That said, the Volts are not a bad team at all (they looked really switched on during their warm-ups; I was very impressed), but a number of them are playing up a year and I think found it hard to keep up with the older players.
Quite a bag of goals for us, with Andrew scoring 4, Robert 2, Dominic 2 and George 1 (his first for the Sharks).
I couldn't pick a player of the day because everyone played so well, so everyone was:-) Well done.
15th Grade BWellington College D 0 Pukerua Bay Rangers 13
This was the first outing for the reconstituted Rangers. None of us were really sure how they would do, but we didn't have long to find out - the first goal was scored within a couple of minutes of kickoff. The Rangers played a terrific game. Their passing was excellent, ball control was great, positional play well thought out and they fought hard for the ball at every opportunity. They were controlled and confident for the entire game. College never troubled them apart from one serious attacking sequence in the second half, but it was obvious that most of the Rangers were used to playing together and that gave them a real edge. The benefit of all those hours of impromptu soccer at the school really showed! Everyone had a great time.

7th Grade - We are still looking for players for the 7th Grade team, the Orcas. If there are younger children in your family who are turning seven this year and might want to play, please let Iain know. Suggest it to your friends if they have 6 year olds.

8th GradePukerua Bay Dolphins 2, Nth Wellington Chaos 10
The Dolphins played a great game today, all trying really hard. North Wellington Chaos scored 10 goals and in a great improvement on last year, the Dolphins scored 2 goals - final score 10-2. Last year it took about 6 games before they got a goal. Thanks to Chaos for swapping two players at half time and to Louis and Tabitha for playing for Chaos in the second half. Meredith worked really hard in goal in the first half and Alex made some great saves in goal in the second. Tabitha and Tabitha did a great defending double act both tackling even when four Chaos players were coming at them! Reuben played strong defence and also helped out the forwards. The forwards, Lewis and Rees, plus Louis, Alex and then Meredith for a half each did some great kicking and took some strong shots at goal.
Best hollywood goes to Rees for his somersault tumble (no injury) and Player of the Day was Tabitha H for great tackling and defending.
A good fun game :-) and the Dolphins looked really smart in their new gear.
Pukerua Bay Skinks 6, Onslow Bengals 0
The Skinks played extremely well against another all-girls team, with lots of passing through the whole game. Hazel played in goal in the first half and saved lots of goals. In the second half, the Skinks turned the game around and were definitely on attack and had lots of shots at goal.
Goals were scored by Courtney (2), Teagan (1), Maia (2) and Mary-Lynn (1).
Player of the Day went to Teagan, and the coach's special award went to Courtney.
10th Grade APukerua Bay Stingrays 3, Wests Hawks 3
An exciting match as those supporters on the sideline will attest.
An excellent game of soccer by the Stingrays against an organised and skilled team from Wests. Considering there were three new players who were having their first season of football the Stingrays competed well as a team and they played with a lot of heart and determination.
Although being down by a goal early on, the Stingrays fought back through a great strike by Oscar - his first goal for the team. Wests scored twice either side of half-time and were ahead 3-1 with 10 minutes to play, but the Stingrays never dropped their heads, fought back and dominated the last period of the game with two more fine goals to bring about the draw.
A great first up game.
Player of the day - all the players for great team spirit.
11th Grade BIBU Makos 5, Pukerua Bay Barracudas 0
The Barracudas played well and held their own throughout the game - better than the score would suggest. Unfortunately, the team lost a bit of heart when a goal was disallowed, and then they had to play the last 10 minutes with only 10 players after one of the Barracudas was injured.
The forwards tended to drift out of position a bit, so they missed a few opportunities. But it was a good game for the spectators, and Chad made some good saves in goal.
Player of the day was Thomas or great defence and staying in position.
12th Grade BPukerua Bay Sharks 1, Seatoun Dragons 3
Apart from no rain, this was a near perfect morning for a game of football;-) The Sharks had a very shaky start and struggled to cope against a very well drilled and skillful Seatoun team. Robert had a busy time in goal, but was eventually beaten by an excellently placed shot that anyone would have been proud of. This was a bit of a wake-up call for the Sharks, who came alive in the last five minutes or so of the half.
The second half was better fought by the Sharks, but unfortunately mostly in defence as Seatoun hammered away at us. Eventually the pressure was too much and an additional two goals were scored in quick succession as the Sharks began to tire. In the dying moments of the game Robert made a breakthrough and outpaced the defence to slot in a consolation goal for the Sharks.
Despite the 3-1 defeat I think the Sharks can take a lot from this game: the team put a number of very good (and planned!) moves together, only to be thwarted by good defence, and conversely defended very well for long periods of time.
Player of the Day was Dominic for his almost tireless running, and in only his second game of football, demonstrating terrific ball skills.

New Zealand is hosting the inaugural under-17 women's world cup from 28 October to 16 November. Sixteen teams will take part, and Wellington will host four of the teams competing in their quarter final games. All the Wellington games will be played at the Westpac Stadium, and there are some excellent packages for tickets. (We'll get the prices confirmed soon, but you should be able to see all of the games for not much more than the price of a single Phoenix game ticket.) The semifinals will be at Christchurch's QEII park and the final at North Harbour Stadium in North Shore.
FIFA held a launch function in Wellington a couple of weeks ago, where we got to meet the FIFA delegation. The local people I spoke to were very excited about it, and all the clubs in the region seem to be right behind it.
We also got to see some videoed examples of the types of players who will be taking part. These girls can really play! Sure, they were the edited highlights of games, but the standard was excellent. The four cities in the region are right behind the competition, and there is a possibility that each city will host one of the teams for training. So, we might have one of the world's best youth teams training here in Porirua. If we get the sort of media coverage the competition deserves - and the Stadium will be an excellent venue - it could be a real boost for women's and girls' football. Here's hoping!
We'll keep you up to date with the latest news. The club will also get some good ticket deals, which we'll make sure you know about, and we will also be able to earn some money for the club by selling tickets.
There is a feed of the latest news from FIFA on the tournament on the right hand side of the page, and you can check out all the info about the competition on the tournament page on the FIFA website.

This Friday (22 Feb) Hope Powell, current England Women's Team Coach, and Sonia Denoncourt, head of Women's Refereeing at FIFA, are in Wellington. They are touring NZ as part of the build-up to the U-17 WWC to be staged here in Wellington (and 3 other centres) in Oct/Nov this year. They are delivering a session for coaches in the afternoon and another one in the evening. This is a fantastic chance to see the best of the best, and the evening session is pitched at grass roots coaches and referees.
All of the details are on the Capital Football site.

Many of you still haven't received last season's team photos. A little misunderstanding at the end of last school year meant they weren't handed out, and then over the summer the soccer season seemed so far away I forgot to deliver any of them. Sorry about that. I'll get them sorted as soon as I can.

The 2008 season is about to get under way. The first game for the younger teams will be on April 12th, and teams playing on full-sized pitches (i.e. 11th grade and older) will probably be on April 5th. We are now taking registrations from players aged 6 (turning 7 this year) to 14. We'll be contacting last season's players in the next few days to see how many are interested in playing again this season. Ring or email me and I'll send you a registration form.
We are having to increase the club's registration fees this year. Capital Football and Soccer New Zealand have both increased their team registration fees and levies. This season our club registration fees will be $40 per player for the season. However, we are still one of the cheapest clubs around (Porirua City also charges only $40, while many other clubs charge more than $60 or $70), and we do provide kit for the players, so it's pretty good value.